had towards them. If ever women should seek a voice in that society men would take immediate action to force them into uncomfortable situations as they did not perceive women as actually possessing their own voice. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is a misogynistic novella that is made evident by the perils and later suicide of Sybil Vane due to Dorian’s impacts, the tragic love life of Margaret Devereux due to her father’s influence…
Oscar Wilde wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890 during an era in British history when immoral actions and values were to be hidden. When the book was first published the issue of the main characters' -Dorian and Basil- sexualities, became a very pressing issue for the book not to be printed for the masses. The British culture, centered wholly on facade, wished to keep its reputation as being the most pure civilization and display its highest morals, even though there were the underlying…
is seen in both The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, where the writers fulfill their duties…
of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde emphasizes his belief in aestheticism. He attempts to enforce the idea that art should be created for art’s sake, and that people can not conclude anything about the artist from their art. In the preface, Wilde warns readers that “all art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril” (Wilde 2). Nearly all readers disregard Wilde’s warnings and attempt to compare Wilde to many of the characters in the novel. Wilde himself even…
brevity of life — it embodies, to many, the soul of its creator and grants the viewer insight to a single moment. However, in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, a portrait morphs into a catalyst of dual lives. Tempered through an impulsive desire, Dorian’s essence is divided between the seen and the discrete. Through the use of the portrait and opium motif, Oscar Wilde develops the theme of dual existence/true identity. Throughout Wilde’s novel, Dorian’s portrait and the narcotic opium…
Introduction to Author Oscar Wilde was a Anglo- English author, playwright, novelist, critic and poet. He was a popular literary figure in late Victorian England, known for his brilliant wit, flamboyant style. After graduating from Oxford University, he lectured as a poet, art critic and a leading proponent of the principles of aestheticism which emphasized aesthetic values more than moral or social themes. This doctrine can be clearly summarized by the phrase ‘art for art’s sake’. In 1890, he…
are ugly. Even though people say they are not judgmental, subconsciously people are more likely to trust the faces they like. However, the attractiveness of the physical appearance does not represent one’s soul. In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, the protagonist Dorian Gray’s excess obsession with beauty, easily influenced nature, and irresponsibility for himself ultimately trigger his downfall in the end of the novel. The superficial and excessive desire for beauty of Dorian Gray…
When people criticize The Picture of Dorian Gray lacks of standpoint about morality, Oscar Wilde defends his book by saying, “ All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment”. The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde, describes a beautiful gentleman Dorian Gray, under the influence of his two best friends, sells his soul in exchange for everlasting beauty and youth, and dies tragically at the end. In this novel, Dorian learns beauty and vanity when he saw his…
In The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde it is apparent that Lord Henry’s influence drastically changes Dorian’s view of himself and the world around him. Dorian’s character began as a blank slate, but deep within Dorian’s character there was the temptation for the forbidden. Lord Henry saw this as an opportunity to introduce his philosophy and indulge his desire to manipulate him for his own pleasure. Lord Henry’s philosophy of Aestheticism is not inherently bad, it simply allows an…
In the book Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, there are four types of genius and beauty that affected character’s lives: reputational beauty, superficial beauty, scientific genius, and psychological genius. Sibyl killed herself after abandoning her acting career for the beauty of Dorian Gray, who met her only a few days before. Even Basil the painter is stabbed by Dorian, after trying to help Dorian regain the purity of youth, the reputational and superficial beauty of whom Basil had for himself (in…